Cristiano Ronaldo transfer decision delaying Juventus' plans, replacements identified

Juventus' summer transfer plans to sign a forward are being put on hold by Cristiano Ronaldo, who is yet to decide if he will remain with the Serie A giants or seek pastures new this summer.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner will enter the final year of his contract on June 30 and is yet to hold any talks about an extension. The lack of talks is keeping Juventus on edge going into next season and in terms of pursuing other forward targets.

The Portugal international is expected to communicate his plans in the coming weeks after his country was knocked out of the European Championship by Belgium in the last 16. Juventus are hoping he stays and commits his future to the team, but have made contingency plans in the event that he decides to leave.

Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed that there are no talks at the moment with Juventus waiting on Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes before they can move on with their plans. The former Real Madrid star has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is not negotiating a new contract with Juventus, as of today. Club now waiting for Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes to decide if leaving Juventus this summer or not," Romano wrote.

Juventus, meanwhile, are not sitting idle and are identifying potential recruits to replace the prolific five-time Champions League winner. According to Tuttosport, The Serie A giants have identified Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus, PSG's Mauro Icardi and Fiorentina's young forward Dusan Vlahovic as the Portuguese star's replacements.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri is said to be a big admirer of Jesus, and earlier reports suggested that he was the Italian's top target. The City striker struggled for game time under Pep Guardiola last season, and could be open to a new challenge in Italy.

Apart from planning for Ronaldo's potential departure, Juventus are pretty calm with regards to the transfer market. Allegri is pretty happy with the squad at his disposal but is keen to add one more midfielder with Sassuolo's Manuel Locatelli top of the list at the moment.